Transformers: Age of Extinction
Transformers: Age of Extinction is a 2014 science fiction action film based on the Transformers franchise. It is the fourth installment of the live-action [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers_(film_series) Transformers film series] and stars Mark Wahlberg in the lead role. A sequel to''Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the film takes place five years later, after the Decepticon invasion of Chicago. Like its predecessors, the film is directed by Michael Bay[6] and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Ehren Kruger is the film's screenwriter, having written every ''Transformers film since Revenge of the Fallen. The film features an entirely new cast of human characters and is the first in the series to feature the Dinobots. Returning Transformers include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Leadfoot, Brains, and Megatron (now known as Galvatron). The film was released on June 27, 2014, in IMAX and 3D.[7] Reception to the film was generally mixed among casual film-goers, [8] but negative among film critics, who expressed an overall dislike for the acting, directing, length, and writing. It received an average rating of 18% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the lowest rated film of the franchise, although some praised the action scenes, visual effects, and Wahlberg's and Stanley Tucci's performances. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $1 billion in worldwide box office revenue. A fifth film is scheduled for a summer 2016 release. Contents http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers:_Age_of_Extinction# hide *1 Plot *2 Cast **2.1 Humans **2.2 Transformers ***2.2.1 Autobots ***2.2.2 Dinobots ***2.2.3 Decepticons ***2.2.4 Others *3 Production **3.1 Development **3.2 Casting **3.3 Filming **3.4 Incidents **3.5 Music *4 Marketing **4.1 Video games *5 Release **5.1 Box office **5.2 Critical reception **5.3 Home media *6 Authenticity over box office performance *7 Sequels *8 See also *9 References *10 External links Plot Sixty-five million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, beings known as the "Creators" detonate "Seeds", bombs that cyberform large areas of land, wiping out most life on Earth. In the present, a geologist named Darcy Tyril discovers a dinosaur corpse covered in a strange metal in the Arctic. Five years have passed since the Battle of Chicago and humanity has grown fearful of Transformers. The U.S. military has severed joint combat operations with the Autobots. While officially the Autobots are granted sanctuary, secretly, even without the U.S. President's knowledge, Cemetery Wind, an elite CIA unit headed by paranoid agent Harold Attinger and team leader James Savoy, tasked with hunting down the remaining Decepticons, is also secretly hunting down Autobots, believing them to be a threat, and have murdered most of them. With the aid of the Transformer bounty hunter Lockdown, they ambush and brutally kill Ratchet. Their primary target, however, is Optimus Prime, whom Lockdown personally wants alive. Meanwhile in rural Texas, Cade Yeager, a struggling inventor, and his friend Lucas buy an old truck to strip it for parts in hopes of sending Cade's daughter Tessa to college. Cade soon discovers that the truck is an injured Optimus Prime and repairs him. After locating Optimus in Texas, Cemetery Wind and Lockdown travel there and confront Cade, Tessa, and Lucas. Optimus comes out of hiding and attacks the operatives, allowing Cade and his friends to escape. They are saved by Tessa's secret boyfriend, Shane Dyson, with whom they escape, though Lucas is killed by Lockdown's grenade. While in hiding, tensions between Cade, his daughter and Shane rise due to the fact that the two teenagers kept their relationship secret. Optimus, meanwhile rallies the last remaining Autobots: Bumblebee, Hound, Drift, andCrosshairs. Cade hacks into a drone he took from the attack in Texas, and learns that Cemetery Wind is working with a corporation called KSI. They decide to infiltrate KSI headquarters in Chicago for information. Meanwhile, Joshua Joyce, the head of KSI, shows Tyril that he has perfected transformium, the codeable, molecularly unstable metal that the Transformers are composed of. He has imprisoned Brains to decode dead Transformers' brains and utilize their data for human-created Transformers. He shows Tyril his prized creation,Galvatron, who was created using data from Megatron's brain. Optimus and the Autobots storm the facility, free Brains, and start to destroy the facility. Joyce stops them, and when he explains that humans don't need the Autobots anymore, now that they can create their own Transformer soldiers, the Autobots leave. Attinger forces Joyce to launch Galvatron and another man-made Transformer, Stinger, to pursue the Autobots. Galvatron and Optimus battle before Lockdown wounds and captures Optimus and Tessa on his ship. He locks Optimus in the middle of his trophy room, which also houses the Dinobots. Lockdown explains that the Creators want Optimus back. Before leaving, Lockdown gives Cemetery Wind a Seed, giving Cade, Shane, and the Autobots time to board the ship. Cade and Shane save Tessa and escape with Bumblebee. The other Autobots save Optimus and escape on the detachable section of Lockdown's ship containing the trophy room before Lockdown's ship leaves Earth. Optimus and Brains reveal that Galvatron is Megatron reincarnated, and that he has been manipulating KSI to build an army and steal the Seed in order to wipe out humans and create more Decepticons. Joyce retreats to Beijing with Tyril and his business associate, Su Yueming, to use the production facilities there. Cade warns Joyce, who decides to go back on his deal with Attinger. As the two argue, Galvatron activates by himself and infects all the KSI prototypes, enabling him to command them to do his bidding. As the Autobots try to retrieve the Seed in Hong Kong, their ship is shot down by Galvatron's army, leaving Hound and Bumblebee to fight the battle outnumbered. Knowing this, Optimus releases and tames the Dinobots. With their help, they destroy Galvatron's army. Lockdown returns and uses a magnetic weapon in an effort to reclaim Optimus and the Dinobots. However, Optimus destroys it and fights Lockdown. Cade, after managing to evade and kill Savoy, tries to help but is held at gunpoint by Attinger, who is disgusted by Cade's choice to side with the Autobots. Optimus saves Cade by killing Attinger, but Lockdown impales Optimus with his sword into a wall. Cade and Bumblebee distract Lockdown while Tessa and Shane take the sword out of Optimus, who then kills Lockdown. Galvatron retreats, vowing to battle Optimus another day. Optimus sets the Dinobots free and requests the Autobots to protect Cade and his family before flying into space with the Seed, sending a message to the Creators that he is coming for them. Cast Main article: List of Transformers film series characters Humans *Mark Wahlberg as Cade Yeager, a single father and struggling inventor.[9] *Stanley Tucci as Joshua Joyce, the arrogant head of KSI who wants to build his own Transformers.[10][11] *Nicola Peltz as Tessa Yeager, Cade's daughter.[12][13] *Kelsey Grammer as Harold Attinger, a paranoid CIA agent who created the Cemetery Wind to eliminate all Transformers from Earth.[14] *Jack Reynor as Shane Dyson, Tessa's boyfriend and an Irish race car driver.[13][15] *Sophia Myles as Darcy Tyril, Joshua's geologist assistant.[16][17] *Li Bingbing as Su Yueming, owner of the Chinese factory used by KSI to build their artificial Transformers.[18] *Titus Welliver as James Savoy, field leader of the Cemetery Wind working for Attinger.[19] *T. J. Miller as Lucas Flannery, Cade's best friend and a mechanic.[20] *James Bachman as Gill Wembley, a scientist working for Joshua. *Thomas Lennon as Greg, the White House Chief of Staff. *Charles Parnell as the CIA Director. Melanie Specht and Victoria Summer both played Joshua's executive assistants.[21][22] Ray Lui played a motorcyclist in Hong Kong, while Michael Wong was cast as a Hong Kong police officer.[23] Han Geng had a cameo, singing and playing the guitar in a parked car that is magnetized by Lockdown's ship.[24] General Motors Vice President of Design Edward T. Welburn had a cameo appearance as a KSI executive.[25] Transformers Autobots *Peter Cullen voices Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots who transforms into a rusty Marmon 97 semi truck and later, a blue and red Western Star 4900 Phantom Custom semi-trailer truck. Optimus has since lost his faith in humanity after the ambush that caused his injury and even considers leaving the planet until Cade convinces him to reconsider his faith in humanity.[26][27][28][29][30] *Mark Ryan voices Bumblebee, an Autobot scout who transforms into a modified 1967 Camaro and later, a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro concept.[27] *John Goodman voices Hound, an Autobot commando who transforms into an Oshkosh Defense Medium Tactical Vehicle.[27][29][30] *Ken Watanabe voices Drift, an Autobot tactician and a former Decepticon who transforms into a black and blue 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse and a helicopter.[27][29][30] *John DiMaggio voices Crosshairs, an Autobot paratrooper who transforms into a green 2014 Chevrolet Corvette C7 Stingray who speaks in a Englishaccent.[27][29][30] *Robert Foxworth voices Ratchet, the Autobots' medical officer who transforms into a light green Rescue Hummer H2.[28][30] *Reno Wilson voices Brains, a former Decepticon drone turned Autobot.[30] *Leadfoot, an Autobot Wrecker who transforms into an armored version of the #42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Target car.[31] Dinobots *Grimlock, the leader of the Dinobots who transforms into a horned, mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex.[27][29] *Strafe, a Dinobot who specializes in assault infantry and transforms into a mechanical two-headed and two-tailed Pteranodon.[29][32] *Slug, the savage destroyer amongst the Dinobots who transforms into a mechanical spiked and bestial Triceratops.[29][32] *Scorn, the Dinobots' demolition specialist who transforms into a mechanical three-sailed Spinosaurus.[29][32] Decepticons *Frank Welker voices Galvatron, a human-made Transformer who becomes possessed by Megatron's mind, thus making him the new body for the Decepticon leader. He molecularly transforms into a black and grey 2014 Freightliner Argosy cab over trailer truck. He has been secretly manipulating the human governments in creating their own Transformers for him to control so he can steal the Seed for himself and rebuild the Decepticon army.[29][30][32][33] *Stinger, a human-made Transformer inspired by Bumblebee who becomes a Decepticon spy and sabotage specialist. He molecularly transforms into a red and black 2013 Pagani Huayra.[27][28][29][30] *Junkheap, a human-made Transformer who becomes a Decepticon under Galvatron's control. He molecularly transforms into a Isuzu Giga garbage truck of Waste Management, Inc.[34] *Traxes, mass-produced human-made drones who become Decepticons under Galvatron's control. They molecularly transform into different colored Chevrolet Traxes.[35] Others *Mark Ryan voices Lockdown, an intergalactic bounty hunter, aligned with neither side, who transforms into a grey 2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700–4 Coupe, is working with Attinger to capture Optimus Prime for the humans in exchange for the Seed from him, being provided unlimited access to all of Attinger's CIA resources. Lockdown is working for unknown alien life forms whom he claims are the creators of the Transformers.[27][29] He has a group of alien humanoid mercenaries and a pack of techno-organic wolves called Steeljaws under his command. *The Creators, an unknown race of aliens whom Lockdown claims are the Transformers' creators. They are seen very briefly in the film's opening when they use multiple Seeds to cyberform Earth, exterminating the dinosaurs. Years later, they hired Lockdown to apprehend Optimus Prime for unknown reasons. Production Development During production for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Shia LaBeouf and Michael Bay confirmed that they would not return for a fourth installment of the franchise.[36]Roland Emmerich, Joe Johnston, Jon Turteltaub, Stephen Sommers, Louis Leterrier and David Yates were rumored to replace Bay.[37] Jason Statham was rumored to star in the fourth installment. Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner revealed that he was able to announce the film as he was talking with Steven Spielberg, Bay and Paramount.[38] There were rumors that the fourth and fifth installment would be shot back-to-back with Statham as the lead role, which he and Bay denied.[39] Spielberg hoped Bay would return for a fourth installment.[40] After final negotiations with Bay to direct the film,[41] producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura confirmed that there would be a fourth film in the franchise.[42] In February 2012, Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay announced that Bay would be producing and directing a fourth Transformers film, scheduled for a June 27, 2014 release.[43][44]The film continues the story in Transformers: Dark of the Moon,[15] taking place four years later.[45] Ehren Kruger and Steve Jablonsky returned to write the script and the score, respectively.[46] In April 2013, it was announced that China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises would co-produce the film with Paramount.[47][48] On September 1, 2013, Fusible revealed three possible titles for Transformers 4, which were Transformers: Last Stand, Transformers: Future Cast, and Transformers: Apocalypse. On September 2, TFW 2005 revealed one last possible title, Transformers: Age of Extinction.[49][50] On September 3, 2013, Paramount released an official teaser poster for the film, revealing the title to be Transformers: Age of Extinction.[51] Casting In November 2012, Mark Wahlberg was cast in the film.[9] Also in November 2012, The Hollywood Reporter reported that casting had began for two additional leads: the daughter to Wahlberg's character and her boyfriend, a race car driver. Isabelle Cornish, Nicola Peltz, Gabriella Wilde and Margaret Qualley were all considered for the role of the daughter, while Luke Grimes, Landon Liboiron, Brenton Thwaites, Jack Reynor and Hunter Parrish were all considered for the boyfriend. The leads are contracted for three films.[13] In January 2013, Reynor was cast as the boyfriend,[15] and in March 2013, Nicola Peltz was cast as Wahlberg's daughter.[12] Peter Cullen reprises his role as the voice of Optimus Prime.[26] Glenn Morshower stated in September 2012 that he would appear in the next two films, reprising his role of General Morshower, but Morshower announced in May 2013 that he would not be able to appear in the new films due to a scheduling conflict.[52] In April 2013, Bay revealed that actor Stanley Tucci had joined the cast.[53] On May 1, 2013, actor Kelsey Grammer was cast as the lead human villain named Harold Attinger.[54] On May 6, 2013, actress Sophia Myles was cast in a major role.[16] That same month, Chinese actress Li Bingbing and comedian T. J. Miller joined the cast.[55] On July 14, 2013, Bay announced that Han Geng had joined the cast.[24] That same month, Titus Welliver also joined the cast.[19] Filming Bay announced that filming had begun on May 28, 2013, alongside the announcement that they had begun filming in Monument Valley, Utah. Detroit, Michigan, was used as a stand-in for Hong Kong[56] while McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, was redressed to portray a city in China.[57] It was the first feature film to be shot using smaller digital IMAX 3D cameras.[53] In addition, the film was shot on a variety of other formats, including IMAX 70mm film cameras, digital stereo 3D, and anamorphicand spherical 35mm film.[58] Through May 28 to June 24, 2013, Michael Bay uploaded photographs of several cars that will feature in the film, all of which are apparently Autobots. They were uploaded to his social networks including Facebook and Flickr. The film featured two unknown Autobots who transformed into a black and blue 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse (going by production name "Drift"), and a green 2014 C7 Corvette Stingray concept (going by production name "Slingshot"). Also revealed is a truck from Western Star Trucks would be Optimus Prime's new alternate mode. The Dinobots and Lockdown were confirmed to appear. On October 29, Michael Bay's Official Twitter Account tweeted that the principal photography of Transformers 4 is done in Hong Kong and they would be heading to Chinese mainland. According to previous reports, Bay and crew would be filming in China for 1 week.[59] Additional filming in Detroit began in early 2014; a pair of steamships (Columbia and Ste. Clair) which once joined Detroit to Bois Blanc Island's amusement park were partially restored as props for the film.[60] Incidents On October 17, 2013, while filming in Hong Kong, Bay was assaulted by two brothers surnamed Mak, who demanded a payment of HK$100,000 (US$12,900). The elder brother had also assaulted three police officers during the incident. Both brothers and a third man surnamed Chan were arrested on suspicion of assault, with the younger Mak also charged on suspicion of blackmail.[61] The Mak brothers pleaded guilty to both charges in February 2014. The two brothers were incarcerated, with the prosecutor citing that the case had attracted a great deal of media attention and affected Hong Kong's image.[62] Music Main article: Transformers: Age of Extinction – The Score Skrillex worked on sound design for the film, having said that he was creating "the craziest Skrillex sounds I could ever make" and mentioned working on sounds for the Dinobots.[63][64] Imagine Dragons wrote a single specifically for the film itself, titled "Battle Cry", that was implemented in key parts of the film by Michael Bay. Imagine Dragons also worked with Steve Jablonsky and Hans Zimmer to contribute additional music to the film's score.[65] Linkin Park's new single "Until It's Gone" is included in the video game soundtrack of the movie.[66] On June 30, 2014, an EP was released on iTunes, featuring four tracks from the soundtrack score.[67] Marketing The first televised advertisement for Transformers: Age of Extinction aired during Super Bowl XLVIII. In a poll by Fandango, the spot was determined to be the most anticipated film trailer to be shown, receiving 48% of the vote in the poll.[68] The first official teaser trailer was released on March 4, 2014.[69] A viral marketing campaign was started for the film upon the teaser trailer's release.[70] On March 30, 2014, a shortened version of the teaser trailer was aired during the season 4 finale of The Walking Dead. Another shortened version of the teaser trailer was aired during the 2014 MTV Movie Awards. Chevrolet aired a commercial at the New York International Auto Show featuring General Motors vehicles with clips from the film, along with putting them on display.[71] Hasbro released an app on May 8 surrounding the film available for iOS and Android devices, allowing users to access exclusive material such as character biographies, images, and interviews with the stars, among other things.[72] A clip featuring never-before-seen scenes from the film and an interview with Imagine Dragons aired during The Voice on May 12, 2014. DeNA and Hasbro teamed up to construct an official mobile video game for the film. The game was first announced on May 13, 2014, though, the title is still in active development.[73] Also on this date, Oreo launched a marketing campaign to promote the film.[74] This included a television commercial where a boy gives a wounded Optimus Prime an Oreo cookie to continue the fight.[75] An exclusive theatrical trailer debuted on May 15 on iTunes Movie Trailers at 12:01 AM Pacific Standard Time.[76] On May 21, 2014, two television spots appeared online, both containing new footage from the film.[77] The film's viral campaign updated on May 22, showcasing all-new posters and realistic news reports of the damage done to Chicago from the third film.[78] Three more television spots, all sporting new footage, appeared online on May 30, 2014.[79][80][81] Imagine Dragons's single for the film officially released online on June 2, 2014.[82] Jack Reynor and Nicola Peltz made multiple appearances in the Twin Cities on June 8, 2014. During an appearance on the The Morning Show (Canadian TV series), both Reynor and Peltz promised big things that would please fans.[83] Kelsey Grammer made an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman on June 9, 2014. During his visit, the very first clip from the film debuted, showcasing Grammer's character and Wahlberg's in a heated argument. During the first commercial break for the show, a brand new television spot aired.[84] On June 10, 2014, two television spots appeared online, both containing extensive new footage from the film.[85] Three more television spots appeared online on June 14, 2014, containing new footage of the Dinobots transforming and of Lockdown speaking.[86][87] On June 17, a brand new television spot aired on Comedy Central containing new footage.[88] Another television spot appeared online on June 18, sporting new footage as well.[89] Video games Main article: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark In February 2014, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, developed by Edge of Reality, published by Activision was announced as a companion to the film. It was released in June 2014 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.[90] Main article: Angry Birds Transformers In summer 2014, Rovio and Hasbro announced Angry Birds Transformers. The game has Transformers movie designs on two of the characters. Release The film had its world premiere in Hong Kong on June 19, with a live concert by Imagine Dragons.[91] Box office As of October 3, 2014, Transformers: Age of Extinction has grossed $245,392,023 in the United States and $835,500,000 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1,080,892,023.[5] Worldwide, it is the 11th highest-grossing film, the highest-grossing film of 2014, the second highest-grossing film in the Transformers film series, the 11th highest-grossing film of Paramount (domestically), and the 19th film to gross over $1 billion. It is the second film in the Transformers installment to earn over $1 billion following Transformers: Dark of the Moon.[92] It reached a milestone of $400 million (6 days), $500 million (10 days), $600 million (13 days), $700 million (16 days), $800 million (23 days), $900 million (28 days) and $1 billion (38 days). ;North America Transformers: Age of Extinction is the 88th highest-grossing film in North America.[93] The film was released on June 27, 2014 in across North America 4,233 theaters and earned $8.75 million on midnight screenings which is the fourth biggest in 2014 behind Guardians of the Galaxy ($11.2 million),[94] Godzilla ($10.5 million) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($9.2 million).[95] On Friday the film grossed an additional $31.25 million bringing it's total day gross to $41.6 million, which includes $10.7 million from IMAX theaters, making it the biggest opening for a film in 2014. In its debut weekend the film grossed $100,038,390[nb 1] ($22,633 per theater), which is the largest opening in 2014, the 4th largest for Paramount and the 27th largest overall.[98] It is the fourth largest opening for a film released in June behind Man of Steel ($116 million), Toy Story 3 ($110 million), and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($108 million).[99] The opening-weekend audience was evenly split among those under and over the age of 25, with 58%, male, 64%, and 27% under 18 years old.[100] The film grossed $36.4 million in the Fourth of July weekend (down 64%) and earned $54.8 million (Wednesday to Sunday) for a second week total of $174.7 million in North America.[101] In its third week, the film was knocked off from the top of the box office by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ($73 million) and earned $16.5 million (down 55%) from 3,913 theatres for a total of $209 million and became the fifth film of 2014 to cross the $200 million mark.[102] In its fourth weekend the film earned $10 million (down 38%) and was placed #5 at the box office behind Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, ($36 million), The Purge: Anarchy ($28.4 million), Planes: Fire and Rescue, ($18 million), Sex Tape ($15 million).[103] In its fifth weekend, the film earned $4.6 (down 54%) million and was place #7 at the Box Office.[104] ;Outside North America Transformers: Age of Extiction was released internationally on more than 10,152 screens. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $301.3 million worldwide, which is the 13th largest ever and second largest for Paramount.[105] The film grossed more than $201 million from 37 foreign markets, and $100 million in North America, giving it a $301.3 million first-weekend gross worldwide. The film set a worldwide IMAX opening-weekend record with $27.3 million (previously held by The Dark Knight Rises)[106][107][108] and only behind Iron Man 3 ($28.6 million from 592 IMAX theaters).[109] Its biggest opener outside the U.S. was in China, where it scored one of the biggest non-North American openings of all time with $99.8 million. After five days of its release, the fourth Transformers movie surpassed its North American run with $134.5 million.[110][111] Other openings include Russia ($21.7 million), South Korea ($21.5 million),[112] Australia ($10 million), Taiwan ($8.3 million), and Hong Kong($4.8 million).[113] In India, the film was distributed by Viacom 18 and opened in 1400 screens in 770 locations and earned around http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee32 crore (US$5.2 million) in its opening weekend which is the third highest for a Hollywood title behind The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($6.92 million) and The Amazing Spider-Man ($5.7 million) and has so far earned $10.22 million at the Indian box office.[114][115][116] Age of Extinction earned $95.8 (down 52%) million in its second week from 37 territories. In China, the film grossed $50.9 million in its second weekend for a total of $212.8 million. In only 10 days of its release, it became the highest-grossing film in China with $222.74 million, thus overtaking Avatar's previous record.[117][118][119] In its third week, the film earned an additional $102 million (up 6%) from 50 territories, for which China contributed $25 million alone.[120] Adding to the film's revenue and popularity were product placements of Chinese brands edited into the movie specifically for Chinese audiences.[121] The film was released to a further 59 territories after the end of 2014 FIFA World Cup and grossed $81.2 million (down 20%) in its fourth weekend, pushing its foreign gross to $659.1 million and $886.3 million internationally, making it the first film of 2014 to pass the $800 million mark. The highest debut weekend from the newly released markets came from Brazil ($16.5 million), Germany ($11.2 million), France ($8.8 million) and Italy ($5 million).[122] On a worldwide base, the film had the second highest global weekend gross during its fourth weekend with $91.2 million only behind Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ($97 million).[103][123] In its fifth weekend, the film earned $37.5 million (down 53%) from 14,375 locations pushing it's global gross to more than $966 million. It became the first film of 2014 to gross more than $900 million.[124] In it's sixth weekend (August 1–3) the film earned $19.1 million from 5,853 locations overseas pushing it's global gross to over $1 billion. Thus, it became the first film of 2014 to reach this milestone and second in the Transformers film series.[125] The film had its final major release on August 8, 2014 in Japan where it grossed $6.4 million from 337 locations and Spain where it earned $2.6 from 382 locations.[126] Transformers: Age of Extinction has become the highest-grossing movie in China, with 133,806 screenings, 17.72 million admissions and over $319 million in revenue surpressing 2009's Avatar record ($226 million).[127][128] It is also the first and only movie in China to gross more than $300 million at the box office.[129] Critical reception As of October 2014, based on 176 reviews collected by the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Age of Extinction has received an overall rating average of 18%, with an average score of 3.8 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads: "With the fourth installment in Michael Bay's blockbuster Transformers franchise, nothing is in disguise: Fans of loud, effects-driven action will find satisfaction, and all others need not apply."[130] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 32 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[131] In CinemaScore polls, users gave the film an "A-" on an F to A+ scale compared to the "B+" that the original film had scored and "A" for both the second and third movie.[132] Richard Roeper gave the film a D, saying that: "the longer the movie goes on, the less interesting it becomes; it just wears you down. As we were finally reaching the 165-minute mark, all that noise and fury was about as exciting as the special effects in an Ed Wood movie."[133] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film zero out of four stars, calling it "the worst and most worthless Transformers movie yet."[134] Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, commenting that "This series was never good, but it was once fun, or at least flashy. Now that its gears have gone rusty, it’s time for an Alien vs. Predator-style rethink."[135] A. O. Scott of The New York Times said in his review that: "The story is scaffolding for the action, and like every other standing structure it is wrecked in a thunderous shower of metal, glass, masonry and earth."[136] Clarence Tsui of The Hollywood Reporter commented on his review that it "barely skirts the idea that humankind and planet Earth are about to be totally annihilated. What is extinguished is the audience's consciousness after being bombarded for nearly three hours with overwrought emotions ('There's a missile in the living room!' Tessa hollers — twice), bad one-liners and battles that rarely rise above the banal. A trio of editors make a technical marvel out of the fight scenes, but can do little to link the story's multiple threads into something coherent."[137] Roth Cornet of IGN gave the film a score of 6.3 out of 10, praising the slightly darker/surprising tone and Lockdown and his ship while criticizing the logic/script issues and long running time.[138] Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News gave the film one out of five stars, commenting that "If the 'human scenes' all reek of adolescent dialogue and dopey snark masquerading as character development, it's a toss-up if that's better or worse than seeing clattering collections of caliginous junk."[139] Home media Transformers: Age of Extinction was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and Blu-ray 3D formats on September 30, 2014 in North America. It was released in digital download September 16, 2014. Authenticity over box office performance On July 1, 2014, there was controversy over the film's North American box office performance. In its debut weekend, the film grossed $100,038,000, which is the highest opening for a film in 2014. However, various critics and reviewers have assumed that Paramount inflated the number. Rival Studio claimed that the figure was close to $97 million; the source of their information remains unknown.[140] Anita Busch from Deadline wrote: "They're lying," said one distribution head at a major studio. Said another, "I don't get it. Is it just arrogance? What is the point of inflating your box office numbers? So they can claim the first $100M movie opening of the year? Oh please, who cares? It's a great opening anyway." One insider at Paramountwith knowledge of the financials told Deadline that "there have been concerns that there could be more layoffs if Transformers 4 didn't hit the $100M mark. So maybe that's what's going on. Even so, everyone in town and I mean everyone has it much less than $100M."[141] Sequels A Hasbro presentation from Vilsco Textiles revealed that a fifth Transformers film was in development and has plans to release in the middle of 2017.[142] Paramount Pictures' Rob Moore stated that there have been talks for a fifth and sixth installment.[143][144] On June 18, 2014, Paramount Pictures Senior Vice President Edward Ryan promised a fifth Transformers film to be released in 2016.[145] In September 2014, it was reported that Wahlberg would not be returning for the fifth film, but this has yet to be confirmed.[146] Category:2014 films